Modified bat for sports training and method of making the same

ABSTRACT

A training and practice bat is formed to include a hollow core region extending through both the handle and the barrel. An aperture is formed in the bat that allows for a fluidic material (water, sand, etc.) to be poured into the bat and thus modify the weight and “feel” of the bat as it is swung. A removable plug is engaged with the aperture to retain the fluidic material within the hollow core region. The movement of the bat during the swing causes the fluidic material to shift from the handle to the barrel, accelerating the movement of the bat during the swing and improving the hitter&#39;s performance.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a sports bat and, more particularly, toa hollow core bat configured to include a fluidic material for trainingand practice purposes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

In the games of baseball, softball and the like (hereinafter referred toas “baseball” for the sake of brevity), warm-up bats are often swung bythe on-deck batter in the belief that his/her swing or accuracy will beimproved during his/her turn at bat. The batter generally swings severalbats or other heavy objects that simulate a bat (such as, for example, ametal pipe). Although some “heavy” bats have been provided for thispurpose (for example, bats with metallic cylinders or similar weightedenclosures), these have proven too complicated and expensive for wideacceptance. Further, the weight localization of these metallic cylindershas given a pendulum effect, rather that a “bat-like” feel to thepractice bat. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,379,006 issued to T. L.Johnson on Jun. 26, 1945. Moreover, the metal contents may knock andchaff against themselves and the bat interior, damaging analready-expensive bat.

Besides swinging a bat in the on-deck circle, training bats are used byhitters during practice sessions to improve their performance at gametime. While many training devices have been proposed for increasingproficiency in power hitting, these devices are not well-suited forlearning and perfecting the controlled swing necessary in contacthitting—a particularly significant skill in softball play. U.S. Pat. No.5,360,209 issued to R. D. Mollica et al. on Nov. 1, 1994 addresses thisconcern using a training bat with a handle and a weighted member thatmoves relative to the handle along a longitudinally-extending rod inresponse to acceleration of the training bat along a portion of theswing. The weighted member thus provides a visual indication to thebatter, as well as the trainer, regarding the specific point in timeduring the swing in which acceleration occurs, an important factor incontact hitting. However, as with the Johnson training device, theMollica et al. training bat results in a pendulum effect, which is not anatural feel during a hitter's swing. Indeed, it is impossible toactually hit a ball with many of these prior art training devices.

The pendulum effect problem associated with these prior art trainingbats is addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,816 issued to L. R. Bratt onMay 11, 1976. In this arrangement, a warm-up bat is formed to include acloseable hollow chamber. The chamber may be formed of plastic, wood ormetal (or any other suitable material) and is attached to a traditionalbat handle using fixtures such as dowels. The chamber section is largerin diameter than the handle and is filled with a flowable material, suchas sand. It is suggested by Bratt that the chamber be completely filledto prevent surgings or shifting of the weight while the bat is in use.This ability to completely fill the chamber is considered to thusprovide a more “bat”-like feel, as opposed to the pendulum effect of theprior art.

While the Bratt training device does provide such a “feel”, thereremains a need during training to be able to dynamically modify theweight of a practice bat to improve the hitter's performance. Moreover,to improve proficiency for contact hitting, a training bat that can beused to actually hit a baseball/softball is preferred.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The need remaining in the prior art is addressed by the presentinvention, which relates to a sports bat and, more particularly, to ahollow core bat configured to include a fluidic material for trainingand practice purposes.

In accordance with the present invention, a training bat is formed toinclude a hollow core region extending completely therethrough. Thetraining bat includes a removable plug at one end, so that a fluidicmaterial (such as, for example, water or other liquid, sand, or thelike) may be poured into a portion of the hollow core. By only filling aportion of the core with the fluidic material, the handle will beheavier as the hitter begins his/her batting stance. As the batterswings, the fluid transfers into the distal end of the bat. Since thematerial is fluid in nature, the “pendulum”-like feel of prior arttraining devices is significantly reduced.

Advantageously, in performing a training session, the amount of fluidicmaterial introduced into the bat can be adjusted, as desired. Forexample, as a batter becomes more proficient in swing, the amount(weight) of the fluidic material can be increased. Alternatively, whenworking with younger children or beginning players the amount of fluidicmaterial can be kept very low. It is a significant aspect of the presentinvention that the utilization of a fluidic material within a hollowcore patent can be implemented with virtually any size of bat, producedout of any desired material.

Other and further advantages and aspects of the present invention willbecome apparent during the course of the present invention and byreference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings,

FIG. 1 illustrates, in a cross-sectional side view, an exemplarytraining and practice bat formed in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of the training bat of the presentinvention, showing the movement of the fluidic material within the coreof the bat during the swinging motion; and

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate an exemplary method for adding fluidic material toa training bat in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates, in a cut away side view, an exemplary training andpractice bat 10 formed in accordance with the present invention. Asshown, bat 10 includes a handle portion 12 and a barrel portion 14,configured to include a hollow core 16 through the full extent of bat 10from tip 18 of barrel portion 14 to an end 20 of handle 12. A removableplug 22 is illustrated as disposed within end 20, where in accordancewith the present and described hereinbelow in accordance with FIGS. 3-5,fluidic material 24 is introduced to hollow core 16 through an aperture26 (seen clearly in FIGS. 3-5) formed when plug 22 is removed. Bat 10may be formed of wood, plastic, metal (e.g., aluminum), or any othermaterial suitable for the purposes of forming a training bat inaccordance with the present invention. “Fluidic material” 24 maycomprise any suitable material that is capable of moving from handle 12into barrel 14 as the bat is swung. For example, water (or any otherliquid) may be used, or sand, lead weight particles, etc. Indeed, forthe purposes of the present invention, the particular fluidic materialselected and amount used is at the discretion of the user, coach,trainer, etc.

FIG. 2 shows, through a series of illustrations, the movement of fluidicmaterial 24 within hollow core 16 of bat 10 as the bat is swung. Inmoving from right to left, as indicated by the arrows, bat 10 is swungfrom an essentially vertical position to an essentially horizontalposition. When bat 10 is at rest in the beginning of the swing, all offluidic material 24 is fully within handle 12, so as to provide a betteranchoring of the bat in the hands of the batter. This is clearly incontrast to prior art training bats that traditionally use weightedbarrel. The location of this additional weight within the handle alsofunctions to provide wrist and forearm strength training to the batter.Once the batter begins to swing training bat 10, the upper arms willinitiate movement of the forearms away from the body and downward sothat fluidic material 24 will start to shift, as a function of theviscosity of the particular material being used. As shown in theillustrations of FIG. 2, by the time the batter has fully extended bat10, all of fluidic material 24 has shifted to end 18 of barrel 14.

When repeated, the movement of fluidic material 24 within bat 10 willdevelop strength and quickness in the batter's upper arms and forearms.Since fluidic material 24 is within handle 12 when the batter's handsare pulling barrel 14 forward, there is no additionalresistance/pendulum effect in the barrel area. Once the forward movementof the hands progresses further, the movement of fluidic material 24accelerates the ease of dragging barrel 14.

As the forearms travel downward and the wrists engage and turn downward,barrel 14 moves in a descending forward direction. As barrel 14 travelslower, it becomes level with the position of handle 12, and furthertransfers fluidic material 24 into barrel 14. This transfer of weightaccelerates the travel of barrel 14 itself, increasing the effectivenessand quickness of the downward turning of the wrists, while alsoincreasing the speed of the forearms' travel to full extension. As theforearms are completing their full extension, barrel 14 of bat 10 isbecoming lower than handle 12, as shown in FIG. 2. As this occurs, therush of fluidic material 24 is accelerated into end 18 of barrel 14,allowing for an accelerated whipping action of barrel 14. At the sametime, this movement of fluidic material 24 assists in the effectivesnapping of the wrists in the forward direction, provoking more whippingaction of barrel 14 into a ball upon contact. Throughout the swing,therefore, there is no “drop off” of bat motion encountered by thehitter.

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate an exemplary method in accordance with the presentinvention for adding fluidic material 24 to hollow core 16 of trainingbat 10. As mentioned above, the particular material selected to fill aportion of bat 10 is at the discretion of the user (e.g., athlete,trainer, coach). Various commonplace materials may be used, such aswater, sand, pellets, or any other material capable of providing thedesired fluidic motion. Advantageously, the weight of training bat 10may be easily adjusted by adding or removing material 24 from hollowcore 16, as need be. Referring to FIG. 3, fluidic material 24 is firstpoured into hollow core 16 of training bat 10 through an opening in thebat. In this particular arrangement, an aperture 26 is formed in end 20of handle 12 and used to introduce material 24 into hollow core 16. FIG.4 illustrates the flow of material 24 toward end 18 of barrel section14, showing its initial collection in end region 18. FIG. 5 illustratestraining bat 10 with removable plug 22 back in place.

It is to be understood that various arrangements may be used asremovable plug 22. For example, a threaded plug 22 may be used with athreaded aperture 26 to securely enclose fluidic material 24 within bat10. Alternatively, an aperture may be formed at end 18 of barrel 14, orat any other suitable position along the extent of training bat 10.Additionally, other types of plugs may be used, such as friction forcefit parts, nut and bolt tightening arrangements, etc. may all be used.At times, the type of removable plug 22 may depend upon the material ofthe bat itself (e.g., wood vs. aluminum) and/or the type of fluidicmaterial used.

While the present invention has been described and disclosed withreference to a preferred embodiment and method for use, those skilled inthe art will understand and appreciate that variations in the basicdesign or substitution of materials may be made, yet still fall withinthe intended scope of the invention, which is to be limited only by theclaims appended hereto.

1. A training bat for practicing a hitter's swing, the training batcomprising: a handle portion including a first termination for grippingby the hitter; a barrel portion, extending from the handle portion andincluding a second, opposing end termination, for striking a ball,wherein the handle and barrel portions include an interior cavity regionalong the full extent thereof from the first end termination to thesecond end termination; an aperture for introducing fluidic materialinto the interior cavity region such that the fluidic material transfersfrom the first end termination to the second end termination as the batis swung; and a removable plug inserted within the aperture for allowingaccess to said cavity region to introduce/remove fluidic materialto/from said cavity region of said training bat as the hitter'sproficiency changes.
 2. The training bat as defined in claim 1 whereinthe aperture and removable plug are disposed in the termination of thehandle portion.
 3. The training bat as defined in claim 1 wherein theaperture and removable plug are disposed in the temiination of thebarrel portior.
 4. The training bat as defined in claim 1 wherein thebat is formed of wood.
 5. (canceled)
 6. The training bat as defined inclaim 1 wherein the bat is formed of metal.
 7. The training bat asdefined in claim 6 wherein the bat is formed of aluminum.
 8. Thetraining bat as defined in claim 1 wherein the removable plug comprisesa threaded plug and the aperture comprises a threaded aperture.
 9. Thetraining bat as defined in claim 1 wherein the removable plug comprisesa force-fit plug.
 10. A method of making a training bat for improving ahitter's proficiency, the method comprises the steps of: a) providing abat with a hollowed-out core region extending from the handle throughthe full extent of the barrel and an aperture; b) adding a predeterminedamount of a preselected fluidic material to the hollowed-out coreregion; and c) plugging the aperture to prevent the preselected fluidicmaterial from escaping from the training bat such that the preselectedfluidic material transfers from the handle to the opposing end of thebarrel as the bat is swung.
 11. The method as defined in claim 10wherein the method further comprises the step of. d) increasing theamount of the preselected fluidic material as the hitter's proficiencyincreases.
 12. The method as defined in claim 10 wherein in performingstep b), water is used as the preselected fluidic material.
 13. Themethod as defined in claim 10 wherein the performing step b), sand isused as the preselected fluidic material.
 14. The method as defined inclaim 10 wherein in performing step c), a threaded plug is used, inassociation with a threaded aperture in the bat, to prevent thepreselected fluidic material from escaping.